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Newfoundland Fish Cakes

UPDATE: April 2015. I added new photos of this recipe today which are destined for my second cookbook this Fall. I’ve also included a great brunch idea for this traditional favourite by incorporating fish cakes in to a version of Eggs Benedict! Get my shortcut Hollandaise Sauce recipe here.

From Jan 30, 2009

Today’s dish and photo come courtesy of 13 year old guest chef Laura Taylor from Conception Bay South who was looking for tips on making Fish Cakes the traditional Newfoundland way. She chose fish cakes as a traditional Newfoundland meal to complete an assignment for her Grade 8 Social Studies class at Vila Nova School where she is a French Immersion student, hence the photo label Gateau de Poisson.

This very simple dish was a staple on many Newfoundland kitchen tables for who knows how long; probably hundreds of years, given that the simple ingredients were readily available from the land and the sea.

Fish Cakes Eggs Benedict

I remember my grandmothers cooking them in large cast iron skillets in the rendered fat from making scrunchions. For our non-native readers, scrunchions are a very traditional accompaniment to several traditional Newfoundland meals and are simply cured fat back pork which is diced in small cubes and then fried until crispy to render out most of the fat.

It does my heart good to know that our food culture is still being kept alive in the classroom. You did a great job on these, Laura; I think they look delicious. If your Social Studies teacher doesn’t give you an A on this one, tell him to take it up with me! 😉

One of my brunch favourites uses these traditional fish cakes in a new way by adding placed eggs and Hollandaise sauce. I sometimes add some crumbled crisp cooked bacon on top as well because what isn’t better with bacon?!

Simmer the salt cod in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Drain the water off the fish and allow the fish to cool to almost room temperature.

When the fish is cool, flake it apart with a fork into small pieces.

In a sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook until they are softened.

Add the flaked fish along with the mashed potato, egg, pepper and savoury.

Mix together until well combined, then form into small cakes and roll in flour.

Fry the fish cakes in canola oil over medium heat until golden brown on both sides.

Serve with scrunchions if desired.

Recipe Notes

Prep time does not include the overnight soaking time for the salt, dried cod. Scrunchions are ½ inch cubes of cured pork fatback that are fried and rendered to a crispy texture. The scrunchions and rendered fat get served over the fish cakes.

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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Comments

This was my 1st time trying this recipe for the Newfoundland Fish Cakes and i must say my husbandand i simply loved them. The recipe was easy and fast to do. I am impressed by the flavour of them. That is just what i needed a recipe that does not take all day to make. Very delicious!! I would recommend them to anyone who likes fish! Thank you for posting the recipe it sure came in handy.

Savory is not an option must a necessity for the flavor. Onions can be added just to the fish/potato mix and they cook just fine. This was my Mother’s way of cooking fishcakes–except now I buy deboned saltfish. I have been told they are very good.

These fish cakes were amazing! I omitted the savory because my husband gets heartburn when he eats it. Also, I fried up the onions with scrunchions instead of butter. I then added the scrunchions to the mixture. I used the fat from the scrunchions to fry up the fish cakes. I served my fish cakes with mustard pickles 🙂 Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!!

I make mine up the night before a dinner party, refrigerate for the savoury to mingle & take out about 1/2 hour before frying!
I serve mini fish cake appetizers with a sweet Asian sauce mixed with sour cream or light mayo diluted with milk. Always a big hit especially for those that have not had fish cakes with the Nfld savoury before, yes it is the savoury that makes a difference,

I made this recipe for supper tonight and what a hit! Even the picky eater that doesn’t like fish cleaned her plate! I wouldn’t change a thing about these fish cakes! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

I just made this recipe tonight they were delicious. Almost like my grandmother’s, she didn’t put savoury in her fish cakes. The next time I will omitted the savoury. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will definitely be making these again. 😀

I find corned cod works better.Simply catch or buy fresh cod and spread sea salt on both sides.Let it sit for a few hours Rince the salt of with cold water and presto you have corned cod.. Best with home made backed beans.

I make fish cakes all the time and freeze them . You do not thaw them before frying . Just toss fish cakes in a hot pan with a little butter and oil. They will not fall apart . ( wrap separately in Saran before freezing ) . I servebthem with fresh home made bread and of course mustard .

This is my first time cooking with salted cod. I made bacala stew and wondered what to do with extra salt cod I had. Google led me straight to your door, wonderful and beloved Newfoundland. I have a love for the people and province of Nfld and Labrador and I’ve never been there. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to the aid of all the plane people, many who were my fellow citizens from the U.S. Your kindness to 7000 people coming out of the sky all at once show how special the citizens of your country, your province and your towns are. I am honored to have you as neighbors. God Bless each of you.

Back to food: i made the Newfoundland Salted Cod Cakes. WOW. They were delicious. They came out looking great. The only change I made was adding Old Bay Seasoning since I didn’t have savoury. I’ll be making these for many more years.

You’ll never hear anybody mention adding corn to your cakes. You do not not know what you’re missing.
Rendering pork fat in the microwave is quick, easy, and stinkless. 1/2″ cubes sounds pretty darn big to me.
But I’m a come from away 🙁

. I have not made the patties yet but am concernd with the sodium content in the serving size. Being a cardiac patient the sodium is more than the recommended amount allowed. Do you have any suggestions to cut the amount of sodium ?

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Hi, I'm Barry. I'm Dad to 2 amazing kids, author of 3 best-selling cookbooks, a freelance food writer & full time blogger. My lifetime love of cooking & baking has led me to share over 1600 recipes on this blog over the last 10 years. Come back often, there's always great new food & recipes coming out of my St. John's, Newfoundland kitchen!

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